Catalogs

This week I received the 2010 catalog from Lilypons Water Gardens, a water gardening supplier in Adamstown, Maryland. The catalog is useful, informative and nice to look at. The company byline says it all —

The Source for Water Gardening Since 1917

These guys are into water gardening! I remember lots of ponds, water lilies and potted plants when visiting the their water garden center over 20 years ago. Nice day.

Photos of water lilies in the 2010 Lilypons catalog are enlarged to show just the blossom and large enough to really see the blossom. Photos include closeups of —

hardy water lilies

tropical water lilies

lotus

iris

bog plants

tropical bogs

goldfish and koi

The rest of the catalog serves to dish out planting supplies, pond filters and pumps, tools, liners and cleaners.

Pay attention to the headers and footnotes on the water lily pages, where the hardiness and care requirements are listed for each page. This information could be better placed right in the Plant Guide that details the spread and lighting requirements for each plant. At any rate all the information is there if you’re not too sure about planting water lilies in your pond.

Interested in growing greener? That would include growing plants native to your local climate, plants that are naturally adapted to the local conditions.

Reducing water consumption is important to many of us, especially for those in dryer climates. A fantastic resource for you guys in the deserts is High Country Gardens. From Santa Fe they offer a nice selection of native plants that require less care and attention than the tropical imports and the highly hybridized annuals that are pushed at garden centers every year.

If you have an interest in any of the following you should sign up to receive the Xeriscape Gardening Newsletter.

Xeriscape Perennials

Hardy Garden Perennials

Groundcovers

Ornamental Grasses

Shrubs & Conifers

Native Plants

Cacti and Succulents

The past few weeks I’ve seen beautifully illustrated emails on the topics of using ornamental grasses, gardening with color, perennials, dahlias, thymes and salvias, and even one about Blue Orchard Mason Bee Nest Tubes for Spring.

The online catalog is handsome. Clean lines, not too cluttered, yet full of information. Tool tips pop up with item specifics when you hover your mouse pointer over the large-enough thumbnail pictures. Each item details page gives plenty of details on the particular plant and its growing requirements.

Herbs are not too plentiful in the High Country Gardens Catalog. Only 6 herbal items, and they’re potted plants:

Like I said though, if you’re interested in gardening with a green intent, then subscribe to the newsletter. It will give you ideas on how to use native plants in your gardens, especially perennials, ground covers and grasses.